Red lights to alert pilots of runways closed for landing

Following a spate of near collisions, new red lights to alert pilots a runway is closed for landing will be installed at Newark Liberty International and nearly two dozen other airports across the country, the nation's top aviation official said today.

A series of illuminated lights set into the tarmac will warn flight crews that a particular runway is being used or soon will be occupied.

Bobby Sturgell, the Federal Aviation Administration's acting administrator, said the action would be taken even though "severe runway incursions are down" over the past six years, despite recent close calls at John F. Kennedy International and Teterboro airports.

"And we're putting technology and procedures in place to keep it that way," Sturgell said in a statement. "We're making changes on the runway and in the cockpit that are going to make a significant difference."

The FAA said the new lighting system is being tested at airports in Dallas/Fort Worth and San Diego and will be in operation at 20 other airports within three years. In addition to Newark Liberty, those airports are slated to include JFK, La Guardia, Boston, Baltimore/Washington and Atlanta.

Aviation officials have put increased emphasis on runway safety in recent months, as concerns about safety rattled the industry after the FAA conceded airlines were allowed to fly planes despite a lack of proper aircraft inspections. Many close calls around the nation have come to light during a contentious contract dispute between the FAA and the nation's air traffic controllers, who have complained about staffing shortages.

Tammy Jones, an FAA spokeswoman, said the decision to install the red lights to let pilots "know to stop" was planned before the recent incidents.

"It's just timing," Jones said.

Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board said it is "investigating a near midair collision in New York City in which two airliners came in close proximity to one another" over the holiday weekend.

NTSB officials said the incident occurred July 5 at 8:36 p.m. when Cayman Airways Flight 792 aborted a landing and "conflicted" with a Chilean airliner that was departing another runway at JFK. Then on Friday, another similar close call occurred at JFK involving arriving Delta Flight 123 and departing Comair Flight 1520, which came within 600 feet vertically of one another and a little more than a half-mile horizontally, according to the FAA.

The FAA, meanwhile, is investigating a June 25 incident at Teterboro Airport to determine why an air traffic controller allowed a Lear Jet to land on a closed runway, while two workers were preparing to put down an "X" to alert pilots of the action. The plane flew about 150 feet over the employees, who were in a vehicle, according to an FAA spokesman.